Influence of Contract Relationship Management on Procurement Performance of State Corporations in….

towards the service delivery. Therefore, information sharing as component of contract relationship management influence the procurement performance at a large extent. Sharing information sharing in in contract relationship management is also essential in enabling interventions and negotiations between the energy sector organizations and the suppliers and hence lead to attainment of positive outcomes (Mwendwa & Ochiri, 2019).

Collaboration element determines the effectiveness of the contract relationship management and procurement management (Verweij & van-Meerkerk, 2021). Collaborations between the organizations and the different procurement and contract management experts and suppliers usually maximize the potential for aggregation of products or services through category management. State corporations in energy sector explore opportunities for collaboration with procurement and contract management experts to expand knowledge on a range of supplies and services. This allows them to effectively benchmark prices across different suppliers and enable them get quality products at better pricing terms which enhances procurement performance. Hirmer et al (2021) asserted that collaborative procurement helps energy sector corporations to save across their overall budgets. Furthermore, collaborations with multiple organizations to purchase similar products makes enables organizations to capitalize on volume discounts that would otherwise be unavailable, thereby securing better pricing which leads to sustainable procurement performance (Verweij & van Meerkerk, 2021)

Contract compliance as a component of contract relationship management focuses on conformance with regulations and performance of obligations within the agreements between the energy sector organizations and suppliers (Song et al., 2018). Compliance typically ensures that ensures all contract parties meet their obligations in a legally acceptable manner. Effective contract compliance clearly addresses contract terms and conditions for that contribute to clear understanding of what parties in a contract need to do to remain compliant. Furthermore, contract compliance among the state corporations in energy sector provide the framework for meeting contract obligations, standardized processes and role clarity which determines the procurement performance. It ensures adherence to the quality standards of products supplied, inventory accountability by procurement officers and reduction of operational costs in the energy sector state corporations (Verweij & van Meerkerk, 2021). Contract relationship also includes the aspect of comprise which entails concessions between procurement officers in public sector energy organizations and suppliers which occurs when they agree to contract terms that neither the organizations nor the suppliers meet them satisfactorily (Mutangili, 2021) Therefore, they compromise on such terms for the best interest of the contract and procurement performance.

Past empirical studies were undertaken to examine the contract management and procurement performance as well as overall performance of organizations. However, there existed little specific research information regarding the relationship between contract relationship management and procurement performance of state corporations in the energy sector. Mwendwa and Ochiri (2019) researched on the influence of contract management practices on performance of state corporations in Kenya. The study found that administration strategy, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder management and conflict management have a positive relationship with performance of state corporations in Kenya. The current study applied different study variables that include the contract relationship management aspects of information sharing, collaborations and contract compliance. Moreover, the current study specifically addressed the procurement performance of state corporations in energy sector of Kenya. Kamoni (2020) undertook a study on the emerging supply chain management practices and procurement performance of public mega projects in the energy sector in Kenya The study found that Public Private Partnership, E-procurement, Procurement Risk Management, and Global Sourcing have a positive significance influence on procurement performance of mega projects in the energy sector in Kenya. The study did not link contract relationship management to procurement performance. Furthermore, the research found that regulatory framework does not have a significant moderating effect on procurement performance. The current study established the relationship between contract compliance and procurement performance. Aluonzi, Oluka and Nduhura, (2016) researched on the relationship between contract management and performance of road maintenance projects in Arua Municipality. The results revealed a significant relationship between contract relationship management and performance of the maintenance projects. The study revealed that improved payment mechanism, controlled contract variations, improved communication channels and dispute management improve project performance. The study failed to link contract management to procurement performance energy sector state corporations. Kimundu and Moronge (2019) assessed the influence of contract relationship management on procurement performance in manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study established that contract relationship management accounted for 62% of the procurement performance of Kenya’s manufacturing firms. This study was undertake from manufacturing firms and not the state corporations in the energy sector. Furthermore, the research was a case study of Bidco Oil Refinery Ltd and the findings may not have applied to all other manufacturing firms in the Country. The current study was a survey of multiple energy sector